I’ve not been around much in the last week or so, mainly because last week was the half term holidays for us and we were busy, busy, busy with hardly any time to sit still for five minutes let alone actually take time to blog!
Now that the kids are back at school for their last half term before the Summer Holidays, I’m starting to plan for what we’re going to do when they’re off which inevitably makes me wonder how we’re going to pay for what we’ll be doing. Don’t get me wrong, we’ll be doing lots of cheap and free things but when a trip to the cinema can cost £30 upwards and a day out at a theme park will set us back between £60 and £100 for the day, even a couple of treats spaced out through the holidays will soon add up!
So with less than seven weeks to go before they break up, I’m on a mission to make a little bit of extra money!
Here’s the first things that I’ll be focussing on….
Car boot sale
You know what they say, ‘One man’s junk is another man’s treasure’. That’s certainly true judging by some of the junk treasure that I’ve seen for sale at car boot sales recently. With the weather being so good lately, it’s an ideal time to have a good de-clutter of your house and garage and then get yourself along to your local car boot sale. There’s a fortune to be made as long as you remember that people love a good haggle at the boot sale and higher priced items don’t tend to sell well as most people simply don’t take much money with them. Which brings me on to my next suggestion….
eBay
Larger items and more valuable things will usually sell better on eBay than they will at a car boot sale so think about listing them on there instead. Make sure you include a really good photo in your listing and use a really descriptive title. If you are thinking of using eBay, look out for the free listing weekends that they often have.
Faceboook selling groups
The groups that are popping up on Facebook for you to sell things free of charge are becoming more and more popular. The groups are usually set up for a particular area so it’s worth doing a search for your town and if you can’t find one then just ask your friends – someone should be able to point you in the right direction. You usually just add a post to the group along with a photo of the item that you’re selling and if someone is interested, they’ll reply to the post or in box you. We’ve sold a few things on ours both large and small and it doesn’t cost a penny. It’s also great for larger items as the other people in the group are local so more likely to be happy to collect.
Meal Plan
If you don’t already plan your weekly meals – Start now and I guarantee you’ll start saving money straight away. I’m a big fan of meal planning so I’m always trying to convert people and it really surprises me when some people say that meal planning sounds like too much hard work. I spend half an hour at the weekend listing what’s in my cupboards, fridge and freezer and making a list of what we’re going to eat in the coming week and then I write a shopping list and we go shopping on Monday nights. It’s not hard at all, it takes so little effort and not only that, I feel so organised through the week as I don’t have to think about what we’re having for tea every night. I think meal planning has shaved about a third of my shopping bill – if not more. So if you started now, think how much extra you could have a week to spend on fun. You can find out more on my othr blog – Meal Planning Made Easy.
Go through your bank statement
Have a look through your most recent bank statement and see if there are there any subscriptions or Direct Debits that you could cancel? Have you tried contacting your mobile/internet/TV provider recently to ask if they have any better deals? Are you on the best deals for your utility bills? What about your home and car insurance? Spending an hour doing this can save you a fortune every month. We rang our TV provider a while ago and said we were thinking of cancelling and they gave us a much better deal and it only took five minutes on the phone. Recently when we realised that Mr Frugal was out of contract on his mobile, he found a better deal elsewhere and then rang his provider up who offered to match the deal and upgrade him to the latest phone. Which moves me very conveniently to my final tip….
Sell your mobile phone (old or new)
If you’ve got an old mobile phone lying around (as you do) you could sell it to make a bit extra – there’s a great link on the MoneySavingExpert site here which compares the amount you would get from a lot of the companies who’ve sprung up lately claiming to be the ones who will give you the most money for your phone. To me, even if you don’t get much for an old phone, it’s better than it sitting in a drawer gathering dust.
Gather your spare change
You probably won’t make a fortune doing this but it’s true that every little helps. Check down the back of your settee, go through all your old coat pockets and handbags and check anywhere there might be some loose change and gather it all together. You could take it to one of those Coinstar machines although they charge something like 7p per pound to change it or you could take it (and the kids) to the amusements and have some fun on the 2p machines.
So there you go, my quick ways to get a little extra money.
Now it’s your turn – go forth and make money 😉
